Chapter 3

3

They stood there, stunned. I decided to be the one to leave.

I grabbed my phone from the table. But before I could reach the door, it burst open.

It was Xavier.

"Brother, please! This is all my fault! I wanted to celebrate with Leo so badly that I forgot about your feelings!"

"I wanted to invite you, but Mom and Dad... they didn't think you'd want to come."

Seeing his fake, pity-seeking face made the veins in my neck throb.

I rarely went home these days. Even when I did, I avoided him.

I shouted at him, asking why he was at my house. But before I could get close, Vivian and Leo shielded him.

I hated Xavier. He had taken everything that was rightfully mine.

And Vivian... she had been sneaking off to see him for years, using work as an excuse.

I had stayed quiet, but I wasn't blind.

Seeing me on the verge of an explosion, Xavier started coughing, acting weak.

"Nate, I'm so sorry. Don't be mad at Vivian or Leo. It's all me."

In all our years of marriage, he had never once called her "Sister-in-law." He always used her first name in that sickly sweet tone.

Before I could react, my son―the boy I had raised as my own―pushed me hard.

"You're a bad man! I wish Uncle Xavier was my real dad!"

"If Mommy was with him instead of you, we would actually be happy!"

I looked down at Leo. My gaze was sharp and cold.

I had loved him. I had protected him.

But they all had Xavier in their hearts.

The seed of doubt in my mind was growing into a forest.

I shoved Vivian and Leo aside. I grabbed Xavier by the hair and started dragging him toward the door, making sure to snag a few strands of his hair in the process.

Leo grabbed a baseball bat from the corner and swung it hard against my ankle.

Even my wife picked up a heavy glass ashtray, holding it like a weapon.

"Let him go! Nathaniel, have you lost your mind?" she screamed. "He's sick! You're going to kill him!"

Seeing them both turn on me like that... it was the final blow.

My heart died in that moment.

Why was I surprised? This wasn't the first time they had betrayed me.

I remembered my parents' anniversary dinner last year. I had been so excited.

No matter how old you are, you still crave a mother's love.

For a moment at the party, things seemed okay. My mother even looked at me with a bit of kindness.

But wherever Xavier went, chaos followed.

He had thrown my parents' original engagement ring into the trash right in front of me on the second floor.

We got into a scuffle. Just as I grabbed his collar, Leo started screaming from the doorway.

"Grandma! Grandpa! Dad threw the ring in the trash! I found it!"

When they rushed upstairs, they saw my fist raised, ready to hit Xavier.

The fragile bond we had started to build shattered instantly.

My parents called me a beast. They said I was soulless.

Vivian blamed my petty jealousy and took Leo to Xavier's house to "make up for my sins."

That was the first time Leo had stabbed me in the back. He was a child, but his words were lethal.

I squeezed the strands of hair in my hand, ignoring the throbbing pain in my ankle, and walked out the door.